Blue Lagoon I Port Vila, Efate I Vanuatu
Destination: Vanuatu
Land of Smiles
Vanuatu is a small island nation off the coast of Australia, between New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands that is a popular destination with Australian travellers who happen to know Vanuatu’s biggest not-so-secret secret: the Land of Smiles is also the land of brilliant beaches and stunning diving.
Travel Guide: Vanuatu
With 80-ish islands spread across some 12,000 square kilometres of ocean, Vanuatu can be pretty remote and hard to access. Cruise ships have helped to make the lush rainforests, active volcanoes and some of the over 300 beaches around this island nation accessible and hugely popular. So you can expect to find Vanuatu on most South Pacific Island cruise itineraries.
The vivid blue freshwater swimming holes, accessible World War 2 wreck dive sites, and white sandy beaches of Vanuatu will leave you spellbound and coming back for more.
Cruising
Inspiration
Mystery Island, Espiritu Santo and Efate feature regularly on cruise itineraries, and the island of Lelepa has become home to Royal Caribbean’s private island experience.
Pacific IsLands CRUISE
Voyager of the Seas I Royal Caribbean
9 Nights
Sydney, Australia - Maré, New Caledonia - Mystery Island, Vanuatu - Île des Pins, New Caledonia - Nouméa, New Caledonia - Sydney, Australia
New Caledonia & Vanuatu Cruise
Explorer of the Seas I Royal Caribbean
10 Nights
Sydney, Australia - Lifou, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia - Luganville, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu - Port Vila, Efate, Vanuatu - Noumea, Grand Terre, New Caledonia
Keamu Cultural Village Immersion: Guided Walk on Aneityum
Inspiration:
Cultural Experiences
The Keamu Cultural Village Tour offers a fascinating insight into the history, traditional skills, medicine and food that has been an essential part of the Melanesian-French influenced ni-Vanuatu culture.
While the tour is definitely on the expensive side (no doubt due to the huge markup applied by cruise ships), it is well worth the experience with an interactive village welcome ceremony, warrior confrontation, food tasting and kava ceremony.
Thrillseeking
Inspiration
Vanuatu is famous for its iconic blue holes, vivid blue freshwater swimming holes that can be found on islands all over the archipelago. Jump in and cool off!
